Here is a video on kneading and folding/shaping dough. Thought this was fancy, I could never do it this way.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Particle Size of the Flour for a Good Dough
First of all, let me say that typically the particle size of almost all flours available in India will be ok, you only need to look out for the exception. Be carful about it if you grind your own wheat!
Desirable is a consistency of less than 200 microns with a mid point of 125 microns in the distribution. That is to say, about 50% of the particles will be less than 125 microns, and very little above 200 microns. This is normally available in any branded flour. If you use your own flour then just pass it through the finest sieve available in the domestic market.
Husk, if present, can damage the gluten network - the sharp husk pieces can cut the gluten film. Normally these would have been removed in the branded flour.. but be careful if you use other flour. Normally husk pieces will not get ground to low micron sizes, and can just be sieved out.
Desirable is a consistency of less than 200 microns with a mid point of 125 microns in the distribution. That is to say, about 50% of the particles will be less than 125 microns, and very little above 200 microns. This is normally available in any branded flour. If you use your own flour then just pass it through the finest sieve available in the domestic market.
Husk, if present, can damage the gluten network - the sharp husk pieces can cut the gluten film. Normally these would have been removed in the branded flour.. but be careful if you use other flour. Normally husk pieces will not get ground to low micron sizes, and can just be sieved out.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Gluten, and its role in forming a good bread
Gluten is an ingredient in the bread recipe. To many, this may be an item not heard of so far.
Gluten forms the bulk of protein in wheat flour. Depending on the wheat it could be anywhere between 10% and 19%, but typically about 12%. To get a feel of gluten, do this - make a fistful of dough with the flour, knead for about 10 minutes. Then, knead some more holding the dough under running water (from a tap). The starch will run off, finally leaving an elastic mass in your hand, this is gluten, almost 100% protein. The elastic nature of the gluten in a form of network holds the starch, and provides strength to the bread. To get the network develop properly, the dough is kneaded well.
Gluten is made up of two proteins - Glutenin and Gliadin. Bread flour requires about 14~15% of gluten content to provide reasonable strength. Cake flour will need less than 9% gluten, typically about 7%. High gluten will render the cake somewhat chewy.
We need to add external gluten to the bread dough to make up for the shortage in the whole wheat flour available, or obtained from grinding the wheat purchased. Unlike the west, in India the awareness of the contents of publicly available flour is rather dismal, manufacturers rarely give out information. Gluten can typically be purchased in India from dealers who sell raw materials to bakeries.
Gluten forms the bulk of protein in wheat flour. Depending on the wheat it could be anywhere between 10% and 19%, but typically about 12%. To get a feel of gluten, do this - make a fistful of dough with the flour, knead for about 10 minutes. Then, knead some more holding the dough under running water (from a tap). The starch will run off, finally leaving an elastic mass in your hand, this is gluten, almost 100% protein. The elastic nature of the gluten in a form of network holds the starch, and provides strength to the bread. To get the network develop properly, the dough is kneaded well.
Gluten is made up of two proteins - Glutenin and Gliadin. Bread flour requires about 14~15% of gluten content to provide reasonable strength. Cake flour will need less than 9% gluten, typically about 7%. High gluten will render the cake somewhat chewy.
We need to add external gluten to the bread dough to make up for the shortage in the whole wheat flour available, or obtained from grinding the wheat purchased. Unlike the west, in India the awareness of the contents of publicly available flour is rather dismal, manufacturers rarely give out information. Gluten can typically be purchased in India from dealers who sell raw materials to bakeries.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
My Breadmaking Process
Well - this is the process I ended up in... I am not saying that other processes will not succeed, but for me, this is the one that gave me a good bread.
Take about 100 ml of water out of the total measured 420 grams. Warm it up to about 45 deg C. (in a microwave, 20 second on full power should be enough). In a standard cup (~180 ml), take a teaspoon of flour, add the yeast, one or two teaspoons of warm water, and make a fine paste with a teaspoon. Add the remaining water, a teaspoon sugar, stir well. Cover and keep for 15 to 20 minutes. It should foam well. (if it doesn't, probably the yeast is bad)
Keep about 2 cups of white flour aside. Homogenize the remaining flour (dry mix well, using a sieve or other methods), and the improver, GMS powder.
In a large bowl, make a mix of the remaining water (the sugar and L-Ascorbic acid should be dissolved in this water first) and about 60% of the total flour (excluding the white kept aside), slowly adding water and flour stage by stage. Finish with the proven yeast. The result should be a very thick batter. Cover the bowl with a wet towel and a lid, keep for about 30 to 45 minutes. It should blow up to about double, we call this the sponge.
Add the remaining flour (not the white kept aside), and sprinkle salt. Fold in the flour into the sponge well using an appropriate spoon/knife. (I use the plastic scraper I got alongwith my Kenstar Mixie). After mixing well, the kneading process starts.
I do the basic kneading using dough hooks and a hand mixer (morphy Richards - 300W. The Philips one does not have enough power. If you don't own this, you can hand-knead, with some effort, and making your hands a little messy). Knead at slowest speed for about 3 minutes, add the ghee/oil, kneed for a further 5 minutes. The dough will have become very smooth, and will be sticking to the bowl in places. Add about 1 to 1.5 cups of the white flower and continue kneading till the machine starts protesting a little. Now turn it out to a wooden (or clean smooth surface) after dusting with flour, hand-knead for about 2-3 minutes. The result should be a smooth ball (atleast on the top surface). Lightly oil a large bowl, dump the ball in and roll it around to coat with oil, cover with a wet towel (not touching the ball, a lot of space on top), close with a lid and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
You will have used all the flour by this time, maybe about a tablespoon leftover. Leave it on the surface, we will need it shortly. The dough ball should feel like a chubby infant's bottom, if you got it right.
In about an hour the ball would have more than doubled in volume. Press with your fist firmly, in the center, all the way down. You will hear a whoosh, with escaping CO2. Press down the sides gently to recover the ball shape as much as possible. Turn it on to the floured surface. Using a pipe (tube) like tool, press down in the center of the ball to divide it into two. Finally cut and separate the two halves with a sharp knife (Do not pull apart). Now take each half, lay it on the board with the cut edge facing up, use your fist to flatten it into a rectancle about an inch thick. Now make a roll from the rectangle, starting with a short side. Roll with both hands, without pressing too much. Set it aside with the edge at the bottom. (about 10 minutes, a cool place, refrigerator is OK)
Get your bread pans ready (I use one with 23 cm length, 9 cm width and 10 cm height), lightly oil the pan on all sides. Take out the rolls from the fridge, roll each one a little more, keep the edge joint at the bottom, stretch the top of the ends and tuck it at the bottom to get a good shape, Put into the pans, cover with wet towel and allow to rise a second time. (about 45 minutes should do)
Meantime preheat your oven to 175 deg C, (I use a Morphy Richards OTG28 RSS, about Rs 5000/-) set the grill such that the pans remain in the middle, bake for 50~55 minutes.
When done, turn out the breads immediately onto a wire grill (there should be free space at the bottom), allow to cool. Slicing is best done after 24 hours to allow for moisture re-distribution. You will not be able to slice it at all for atleast 2 hours after turning out.
Enjoy!!
Take about 100 ml of water out of the total measured 420 grams. Warm it up to about 45 deg C. (in a microwave, 20 second on full power should be enough). In a standard cup (~180 ml), take a teaspoon of flour, add the yeast, one or two teaspoons of warm water, and make a fine paste with a teaspoon. Add the remaining water, a teaspoon sugar, stir well. Cover and keep for 15 to 20 minutes. It should foam well. (if it doesn't, probably the yeast is bad)
Keep about 2 cups of white flour aside. Homogenize the remaining flour (dry mix well, using a sieve or other methods), and the improver, GMS powder.
In a large bowl, make a mix of the remaining water (the sugar and L-Ascorbic acid should be dissolved in this water first) and about 60% of the total flour (excluding the white kept aside), slowly adding water and flour stage by stage. Finish with the proven yeast. The result should be a very thick batter. Cover the bowl with a wet towel and a lid, keep for about 30 to 45 minutes. It should blow up to about double, we call this the sponge.
Add the remaining flour (not the white kept aside), and sprinkle salt. Fold in the flour into the sponge well using an appropriate spoon/knife. (I use the plastic scraper I got alongwith my Kenstar Mixie). After mixing well, the kneading process starts.
I do the basic kneading using dough hooks and a hand mixer (morphy Richards - 300W. The Philips one does not have enough power. If you don't own this, you can hand-knead, with some effort, and making your hands a little messy). Knead at slowest speed for about 3 minutes, add the ghee/oil, kneed for a further 5 minutes. The dough will have become very smooth, and will be sticking to the bowl in places. Add about 1 to 1.5 cups of the white flower and continue kneading till the machine starts protesting a little. Now turn it out to a wooden (or clean smooth surface) after dusting with flour, hand-knead for about 2-3 minutes. The result should be a smooth ball (atleast on the top surface). Lightly oil a large bowl, dump the ball in and roll it around to coat with oil, cover with a wet towel (not touching the ball, a lot of space on top), close with a lid and allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
You will have used all the flour by this time, maybe about a tablespoon leftover. Leave it on the surface, we will need it shortly. The dough ball should feel like a chubby infant's bottom, if you got it right.
In about an hour the ball would have more than doubled in volume. Press with your fist firmly, in the center, all the way down. You will hear a whoosh, with escaping CO2. Press down the sides gently to recover the ball shape as much as possible. Turn it on to the floured surface. Using a pipe (tube) like tool, press down in the center of the ball to divide it into two. Finally cut and separate the two halves with a sharp knife (Do not pull apart). Now take each half, lay it on the board with the cut edge facing up, use your fist to flatten it into a rectancle about an inch thick. Now make a roll from the rectangle, starting with a short side. Roll with both hands, without pressing too much. Set it aside with the edge at the bottom. (about 10 minutes, a cool place, refrigerator is OK)
Get your bread pans ready (I use one with 23 cm length, 9 cm width and 10 cm height), lightly oil the pan on all sides. Take out the rolls from the fridge, roll each one a little more, keep the edge joint at the bottom, stretch the top of the ends and tuck it at the bottom to get a good shape, Put into the pans, cover with wet towel and allow to rise a second time. (about 45 minutes should do)
Meantime preheat your oven to 175 deg C, (I use a Morphy Richards OTG28 RSS, about Rs 5000/-) set the grill such that the pans remain in the middle, bake for 50~55 minutes.
When done, turn out the breads immediately onto a wire grill (there should be free space at the bottom), allow to cool. Slicing is best done after 24 hours to allow for moisture re-distribution. You will not be able to slice it at all for atleast 2 hours after turning out.
Enjoy!!
My Recipe for a whole wheat bread
Hope you read my introductory post... I have been thinking what to do next, I could describe all those technical details first, but that could have you bogged down without seeing the objective. So, I would give my bread recipe in full in the beginning - but without the correct process, you will not get a good bread. So, I would like to know if anyone succeed with their methods...
The basic recipe for two breads - yield ~550 grams each:
Total flour : 700 grams (See details below)
Total added water: 420 grams (60% of total flour), includes water for yeast proving.
Sugar: 2.5 tablespoons (30 g)
salt : 1.5 teaspoons
Cake yeast : ~15 grams
Ghee / Oil : 2 tablespoons (~25g)
Additives: Bread Improver(half tablespoon), GMS Powder (one teaspoon), L-Ascorbic acid (one small pinch) (Bread can be made without these additives too...)
Flour Composition: 250 grams white flour, 40 grams Gluten, Balance whole wheat flour with typical 12% protein. If the percentage of protein in your flour is different, the gluten (which is almost 100% wheat protein) is adjusted.
Will describe the basic process in the next post.
The basic recipe for two breads - yield ~550 grams each:
Total flour : 700 grams (See details below)
Total added water: 420 grams (60% of total flour), includes water for yeast proving.
Sugar: 2.5 tablespoons (30 g)
salt : 1.5 teaspoons
Cake yeast : ~15 grams
Ghee / Oil : 2 tablespoons (~25g)
Additives: Bread Improver(half tablespoon), GMS Powder (one teaspoon), L-Ascorbic acid (one small pinch) (Bread can be made without these additives too...)
Flour Composition: 250 grams white flour, 40 grams Gluten, Balance whole wheat flour with typical 12% protein. If the percentage of protein in your flour is different, the gluten (which is almost 100% wheat protein) is adjusted.
Will describe the basic process in the next post.
Baking Bread at Home in India
A few months back I tried baking whole wheat bread at home. I have an oven, flour is available in the market, can buy yeast, so why not? And I got my bread - well, more like a brick.
Many days have passed and today I can get a reasonably nice bread out of my oven. I tried to get inputs from experts, no one to help. I browsed the internet, got a lot of information - but not applicable to us in India. For example, after making the dough,it should be kept in a warm place to rise - but the warm place in India is more like an air conditioned room typically about 80 deg F, or about 28 deg C, the reference to "warm place" being more applicable to those cold weather countries! So after many trials - for example - "punch the dough" went through at least 20 different iterations - I was able to get my bread with 70% whole wheat flour, with a final volume of about two and a half time of the base dough volume, which can be made into a good toast almost like the one with a good quality of white bread...
I hope to be able to share some of my experiences here as we go on.. breads, cakes... then possibly to other items too. So, watch out for the posts in the days to come, and thanks, guys!! And maybe I will learn a couple of new things too.
Many days have passed and today I can get a reasonably nice bread out of my oven. I tried to get inputs from experts, no one to help. I browsed the internet, got a lot of information - but not applicable to us in India. For example, after making the dough,it should be kept in a warm place to rise - but the warm place in India is more like an air conditioned room typically about 80 deg F, or about 28 deg C, the reference to "warm place" being more applicable to those cold weather countries! So after many trials - for example - "punch the dough" went through at least 20 different iterations - I was able to get my bread with 70% whole wheat flour, with a final volume of about two and a half time of the base dough volume, which can be made into a good toast almost like the one with a good quality of white bread...
I hope to be able to share some of my experiences here as we go on.. breads, cakes... then possibly to other items too. So, watch out for the posts in the days to come, and thanks, guys!! And maybe I will learn a couple of new things too.
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